Stefani's 'Escape' plan is clear

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Gwen Stefani

The Sweet Escape

Interscope Records

One measure of pop superstardom is whe-ther people wonder what you'll wear next. Gwen Stefani is officially that kind of superstar.

On the cover of her second solo album, "The Sweet Escape," the No Doubt singer's latest get-up pays tribute to the peroxided look of Michelle Pfeiffer in "Scarface." It's ridiculous, of course, but also kind of riveting -- much like the songs within.

"Sex and sugar is the flavor," Miss Stefani sings on "Yummy," pretty well summing up the disposable, short-lived, highly pleasurable experience of the album overall.

A sophomore solo effort wasn't necessarily in the works for Miss Stefani, who plans one day, eventually, to rejoin her No Doubt band mates. (Not that they're twiddling their thumbs: Bassist and ex-Stefani boyfriend Tony Kanal co-wrote a handful of the tracks here.)

It was the runaway, surprise success of 2004's "Love. Angel. Music. Baby." that compelled another outing. As Miss Stefani sing-rap-explains on "Orange County Girl": "Don't know what I'm doing back in the studio/Getting greedy 'cause he said he had another sick flow/So I had to hollaback/Guess I didn't get enough."

"He" is Miss Stefani's sonic enabler, Pharrell Williams, who produced or co-wrote nearly half of "The Sweet Escape." His is the inventive guiding spirit of the album, with its minimalistic push-button beats and computer-game blips.

"The Sweet Escape" nonetheless opens with a big, bombastic flourish -- a "Sound of Music"-sampling ditty called "Wind It Up," on which Miss Stefani gamely reproduces Julie Andrews' mountaintop yodeling. The result is an insanely likable Rodgers-and-Hammerstein-in-Arabia nightmare.